Be ready for surprises
Carol and I have an exciting life. We often don’t know from one day to the next what we’ll encounter — whether we’ll enjoy the events or be disappointed that we got out of bed.
However, we understand that every day and in every situation in life, we have choices about how we’ll respond to circumstances. Sometimes events may be planned, but often they seem to pop up out of the blue. But we choose to respond in ways that honor the Lord.
For example, I wanted to visit my brother in California who was having health problems. Stopping for the weekend in Albuquerque, N.M., we visited a dear, lifelong friend. At 5:30 on Saturday evening, Cynthia asked, “Would you be willing to preach for us tomorrow?”
I could have reacted with, “This is too short of a notice. I need more time to prepare.” But that’s not how God works. God had a plan in mind for both the church and for me, and I didn’t need time to prepare. God had already been preparing the message in my mind and heart, and He prompted Cynthia to ask me. Both the church and I were blessed with God’s timing.
Another example developed as we were planning our route west from Albuquerque. Snow was forecast for Flagstaff, and pulling a trailer uphill in snowy weather is not my idea of safe-traveling. So we decided to take the southern route through Las Cruces and west through Mesa and Phoenix, Ariz.
However, God guided us in choosing the southern route because we received word that our longtime friend, Jo, who lived in Mesa, had passed away. I called her husband, Bill, and told him we would be with him at the home-going ceremony which would be at 10 a.m. on Monday. We arrived in
Mesa on Saturday.
Monday, at 9:55 a.m., I asked Bill, “Where’s your pastor?” he responded, “You’re him.” Surprised, I asked if he had an agenda. He said, “You’re it.”
I turned to the funeral director and asked him about his agenda. He responded, “I was told you’d have it.”
Again, I could have complained about not being informed beforehand. But if we are truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, our lives and schedules are in His hands and He has the freedom to guide our paths. That eliminates a lot of potential stress.
I took a deep breath, sent up a quick prayer, and reprogrammed my mind. Four minutes later we began our Celebration of Life service. It didn’t take any time for preparation because God was in charge. Jo had been Carol’s and my friend since the early 1990s and I knew her. I opened the meeting with prayer, then related an interaction with her when I was music minister where she played trumpet in the orchestra. Other friends who had known Jo since the 1980s were there, along with Jo’s husband and family. They, and others, added stories from their past. We truly celebrated her life, and it seemed like it was all planned.
Guess what? It was all planned — in the mind of God.
When a surprise springs up in front of us, all we need to do is ask the Lord for guidance. God likes that and always has an answer. He’s in charge, and all we need to do is communicate with Him and be ready to obey.
That reminds me of another interaction many years ago.
In 1978 when Carol and I, with our three older kiddos, were getting ready to relocate from New Mexico to Oklahoma, an older pastor in Albuquerque gave me this admonition:
“Gene, don’t open your own doors. People like you have a tendency to open doors that God doesn’t want open. Keep your hands off the door knobs. Let God open the doors, but be sure to go through the ones He opens.”
I asked, “May I try the doors and see if they’re unlocked?”
“You may lightly push — with one finger. But keep your hands off the knobs.”
I’ve lived by that rule — most of the time — and God has led in wonderful ways. However, I’m human and have disobeyed at times, but repentance produces amazing results.
Many surprises await us, so trust God for His guidance. Psalm 28:7a says, “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.”
Be ready to obey.